Biblical Ethics in Shakespeares Measure for Measure

Jennifer Heim 06
William Shakespeare seemed interested in exploring theological concepts in many of his plays.
Measure for Measure is one such play by Shakespeare, and it specifically explores the ethical
principles of the ible. !he title itself alludes to "atthe# $%&, '(or in the same #ay you )udge
others, you #ill be )udged, and #ith the measure you use, it #ill be measured to you.* ranching
off of this central theme are se+eral iblical principles, including the (our ,aughters of -od .
Justice, "ercy, !ruth, and /eace, treating others as one #ould #ant to be treated, the sin of
committing adultery, and the importance of forgi+eness and lo+e. 0ooking at Measure for
Measure from a Scriptural perspecti+e allo#s the reader to interpret the entire play as a parable
from the ible, #ith the characters of the play representing certain characters from the ible, and
a lesson to be learned in the end.
!he central theme of one being )udged the same #ay one )udges is con+eyed mainly through t#o
characters, ,uke 1incentio and 2ngelo. !he play begins #ith the ,uke announcing to 2ngelo and
his ad+isor, 3scalus, that he #ould be lea+ing on business and that 2ngelo #ould be filling the
,uke4s position in the meantime. !he ,uke4s real plan is to come back to the city, disguised, and
obser+e t#o things. !he first thing he plans to #atch is his people4s reactions to 2ngelo harshly
enforcing the la#s that the ,uke has let slip for so long. !he second, and more important, issue
the ,uke #ants to see is #hether or not 2ngelo stands by his strict, personal morals #hen he4s
gi+en such po#er 5"arx, sec.&6. !he ,uke had explained to 2ngelo that, 'Hea+en doth #ith us as
#e #ith torches do7*58.8.9&6, #hich parallels #ith the ible4s principle of not hiding one4s light
under a bushel 5Smith 8&$6. 2ngelo took this to heart, and #ith his higher moral standards began
harshly enforcing the long:disregarded la#s, 'ra;ing the brothels and imposing capital
punishment for sexual infractions* 5"arx, sec. &6. <ne person #ho comes under his #rath is
=laudio, the brother of >sabella, #ho is the #oman that brings about 2ngelo4s 'fall from grace.*
2ngelo becomes infatuated #ith >sabella and propositions her to indulge in the +ery sin that her
brother #as going to be punished for committing. !he ,uke, disguised as a friar learns of
2ngelo4s hypocrisy and, #hen he returns to the city as the ,uke, he sets 2ngelo up, forcing him
to confess in the end. 2ngelo recei+es the same )udgment he had gi+en >sabella4s brother,
=laudio . death.
2nother iblical principle that is addressed is the (our ,aughters of -od . Justice, "ercy, !ruth,
and /eace, #hich are found in /salm ?@% ?:8&. Justice and "ercy seem to more of the focus of
the play. !he first daughter, Justice, is something that Shakespeare tries to define throughout the
play. !he ,uke had let some of the la#s slide and had gi+en lesser punishments to people #ho
broke those la#s because he himself didn4t keep those la#s either. 2ngelo 'stuck to the letter* in
=laudio4s sentence of death for committing adultery, yet allo#ed himself to be o+ercome by the
po#er he had, and he broke the +ery same la# 5"arx, sec.&6. Ho#e+er, unlike the ,uke, he didn4t
lessen =laudio4s sentence after breaking the la#. 3scalus, on the other hand, seems to ha+e
studied the la# and come to understand it #ith all of its complexities 5Smith 8996. 2s the ,uke
describes him, '!he nature of our people,A <ur city4s institutions and the termsA (or common
)ustice, you4re as pregnant inA2s art and practice hath enriched anyA!hat #e remember* 58.8.B:
896. He seems to understand that the la#s must be upheld, but that all the la#s are sub)ect to the
circumstances of each indi+idual case 5Smith 8996. 2t the conclusion of the play, it seems that
Shakespeare finds a common ground for all three, con+eying that )ustice cannot be #ithout
forgi+eness and grace.
"ercy, the second daughter, is a iblical concept that is taught to the pious characters 2ngelo
and >sabella as the play progresses. 2ngelo #as much like the unmerciful ser+ant in one of
Jesus4 parables 5Cnight B86. 3scalus #as there to remind him that he should do unto others as he
#ould #ant done to him, but 2ngelo disregarded this, putting himself abo+e other me, #hich
ine+itably led to his fall 5Smith 89B6. He #as unmerciful to =laudio, but #hen he #as caught in his
la#lessness at the end of the play, he reali;ed the he deser+ed no more mercy than #hat he had
extended to =laudio. He e+en condemned himself earlier in the play, saying, 'When >, that
censure him, do so offend,A 0et mine o#n )udgment pattern out my death,A 2nd nothing come in
partial* 5&.8.&B:986. <n the other hand, >sabella has trouble extending mercy because she is so
caught up in her o#n righteous moti+es. 2s "arx explains, 'She is guilty not because of her
choice to preser+e her chastity and refuse the cruel bargain, but because of her righteous malice
that no#, like 2ngeloDs, #ould condemn her brother to death* 5sec. &6. 2t the center of all of this
conflict lies a clear concept from the <ld !estament, committing adultery is #rong. 3xodus &0%8E
states, 'Fou shall not commit adultery.* 2ngelo #as faced #ith the decision of #hat to do #ith
=laudio, a man #ho had consummated his engagement to Juliet. Go one kne# about their recent
engagement and therefore, the act #as against the la#. 2ngelo seemed )ustified in punishing
=laudio, ho#e+er harsh the )udgment. Ho#e+er, #hen he sa# >sabella, he e+entually broke the
same la#, t#iceH "atthe# @%&$:&? states, 'Fou ha+e heard that it #as said, ,o not commit
adultery.4 ut > tell you that anyone #ho looks at a #oman lustfully has already committed adultery
#ith her in his heart.* 2ngelo committed adultery in his heart #hen he turned to lustful thoughts of
>sabella, but then he committed adultery by sleeping #ith "arianna in the garden. !hese e+ents
led to a lot of conflict and confusion #hen the ,uke returned. "arianna4s lo+e for 2ngelo #as so
great that she thre# herself at the ,uke4s feet. !hrough "arianna4s pleading #ith the ,uke for
2ngelo4s life, >sabella #as able to identify herself #ith "arianna and so she )oined "arianna. !he
,uke sa# that >sabella had finally grasped the idea of forgi+eness and lo+e from 0uke 6%9@ and
he conceded to "arianna4s #ish 5Smith 8@86.
3ach of the concepts pre+iously discussed account for the play4s similarity to a iblical parable. >f
the entire play #as +ie#ed as completely alluding to Scripture, the reader #ould see parallels
bet#een the play4s characters and iblical characters. !he ,uke seemed to parallel -od in the
Ge# !estament. !he ,uke seems to guide >sabella, helping her hatch the 'bed trick* plan, )ust as
-od guided Jesus. 'oth figures are said to use the same strategies of positioning deputies in
po#er, testing these chosen enforcers, adopting human disguises Ithe (riar and JesusJ,
implementing interrogation during entrapment, and dramatically re+ealing themsel+es once
humanity appears most humiliated* 50oberg 9@66. 0ucio #ould resemble 0ucifer, 'the fallen angel*
and the 'father of lies,* especially #hen he lied about the friar4s actions to the ,uke in the last act
of the play 5"arx, sec.86. >sabella also resembled Jesus in the #ay the ,uke guided her and ho#
2ngelo suggested that she sacrifice her chastity for the life of her brother 5Smith 8E?6. /utting
these characters together and using the conflict in the story to teach a lesson of mercy,
forgi+eness, and lo+e resembles a fe# parables, such as the /arable of the Knmerciful Ser+ant
5"atthe# 8?% &8:9@6 in the Ge# !estament.
2nother aspect unco+ered by the research #as that this may be Shakespeare4s subtle #ay of
mocking /uritans through the representations of 2ngelo and >sabella. y the play4s resolution,
both 2ngelo and >sabella ha+e learned that if they open themsel+es up to the #orld, they #ill learn
that some of their +ie#s #ere simply illusions 5Smith 8@66. <nce they #ere in the middle of the
circumstances, they both #ere able to reali;e that their +ie#s #ere distorted by their 'self:
conscious, self:protected righteousness* 5Cnight ?E6. -. Wilson Cnight explained that the central
theme to Measure for Measure #as negated in the end of the play. Justice couldn4t possibly be
dealt fairly since man is a sinner, and therefore, cannot possibly be the one to )udge a fello#
sinner 5?96. !his brings up the Luestion of #ho, or #hat, is allo#ed to condemn men. >f the la# is
inerrant and it is the thing that is condemning man for his #rongs, then, it should be dealt fairly
despite the fact that it is carried out by man himself. Ho#e+er, la# is based on the interpretation
of man, so ho# can )ustice possibly e+er be met, since the true, inerrant meaning of la# is lost in
man4s interpretationsM !he only possible ans#er that Shakespeare seems to gi+e for this in the
play goes back to 3scalus and the ,uke #ith the ideas that man must carry out the la# according
to the circumstances of each case and man should only be as harsh in punishing fello# sinners
as he #ould #ant in being punished.
Shakespeare4s Measure for Measure seems to center around se+eral iblical principles. !he
central theme is taken from the title, #hich alludes to the +erse in the ible about #hate+er
measure one gi+es out, one #ill also be measured in the same #ay. Shakespeare also explores
the concepts of Justice and "ercy, sho#ing ho# they both seemingly go hand:in:hand. 2round
the central conflict of adultery, he uses the characters 2ngelo and >sabella to represent morally
superior people #ho both fall #hen they are pulled out of the righteous fortress they hide behind%
chastity. Shakespeare4s -od:like ,uke brings about the resolution, teaching all #ho are in+ol+ed
that )ustice must come #ith forgi+eness and lo+e because nobody4s perfect. 2s Jesus said in
John ?%$, '>f any one of you is #ithout sin, let him be the first to thro# a stone7*
Works Cited
-reenblatt, Stephen, Walter =ohen, Jean 3. Ho#ard, and Catharine 3. "aus, eds. !he Gorton
Shakespeare% ased on the <xford 3dition. Ge# Fork% W.W. Gorton N =o., 8BB$.
Cnight, -. Wilson. !he Wheel of (ire% 3ssays in >nterpretation of Shakespeare4s Sombre
!ragedies. 0ondon% <xford Kni+ersity /ress, 8B90.
0oberg, Harmonie. Oe+. of Shakespeare and the ible, by Ste+en "arx. Wayne State Kni+ersity
/ress% &00&% 9@@:9@?.
"arx, Ste+en. '!rue 0ies and (alse !ruths% Measure for Measure and the -ospels.* =ollege of
0iberal 2rts. 88 Go+. &009. http%AAcla.calpoly.eduAPsmarxAcoursesAE98A!rue0ies.html
Smith, "arion od#ell. ,ualities in Shakespeare. =anada% Kni+ersity of !oronto /ress, 8B66.
!he Student ible% Ge# >nternational 1ersion. -rand Oapids% Qonder+an /ublishing House, 8BB6.